Railway-track gage and level



(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 1.

S. MGMANUS.

RAILWAY TRACK GAGE AND LEVEL.

No. 323,351. r Patented July 28, 1885.

(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

S. MGMANUS.

RAILWAY TRACK GAGE AND LEVEL.

No. 323,351. Patented July 28, 1885.

rrED STATES Aren't rriciir.

SAMUEL MOMANUS, OF MARSHALLTOWN, IOWA.

RAILWAY-TRACK GAGE AND LEVEL.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 323,351, dated July 28,1885.

Application filed December 20, 1884.

To to whom it may concern Be it known that I, SAMUEL MCMANUS, a citizenof the United States, and a resident of .l'larshalltown, in the countyof Marshall and State of Iowa, have invented a new and usefulRailway-Track Gage and Level, combined, of which the following is aspecification.

My invention consists in the construction and combination of a gage, aspirit-1evel,a spring-catch, and a selt adjusting standard, as fullyshown in the accompanying drawings, in which Figure l is a side view.Fig. 2. is a sectional view of the end of the gage. Fig. 3is a view ofthe standard. Fig.4 is a perspective view of the middle of the gage; andFig. 5 is a sectional ide view of the gage, showing my manner of liningthe level.

A is a bar of wood or other light material, of the proper length, andhaving at its ends shoulders L L, which are so shaped as to fit closelythe tops of the rails when they are propcrl y adj ustod.

B is a handle, of round iron, attached to the top of the gage itself.

(3 is a spiritlevel, which has cast upon it a lump or ball, J, of rubberor felt, of such size as to fit very closely in a recess in the upperedge of the gage A. The elastic material must require much pressure tointroduce it into this recess, which is of such shape that itis i'ullyfilled by the expansion of the said material when pressure is removed,(see Fig. 5,) and which is preferably narrowed at the top.

N ear one end of the gage, and directly over its point of contact withthe rail, is a rectangular orifice extending vertically through theshoulder L. Fitting closely in this channel is the standard E, made ofmetal, and havingin it a series of holes, 0.

Attached to the side of the gage is a ratchet-spring, D, which is madeof a flatsteel band about one-half an inch wide throughout its entirelength and about twelve inches long, and which is twice bent at rightangles at its extremity, forming a thumb-piece, c. Integral with l), andpassing transversely through an orifice in the gage to the channel H, isa tooth, I, of such dimensions as to readily enter and engage the holesbin the standard.

(No model.)

In the practical operation of my invention the rails are adjusted in theusual manner. The spring is then moved back by means of the thumb-pieceuntil the tooth I no longer engages the standard. The weight of thestandard moves it down until its foot it rests on the rail. On releasingthe spring D the tooth I again enters a hole in the standard, thusindicating the diliterence in elevation be tween the rails.

I am aware that springs attached at one end and having teeth at theother have been used in various devices, but they differ entirely frommy spring in shape and construction. The combination of the spring D,the thumbpiece c, the tooth 1, and the self-adjusting standard E is bothnew and greatly advantageons.

I am aware that rubber tubing has been used to protect spiritlevels,both. the level and the rubber being set in plaster-of-paris or asimilar composition; but the embedding a level in elastic material,which retains its position because of the shape of the recess in whichit is fixed and its own expansibility, is

new and especially adapted to traclr-gages,

inasmuch as it makes a very solid but very elastic packing, whichprotects the glass from jars.

My handle B is a curved bar of round iron, which is attached directly tothe wood of the age.

b Byhaving shoulders L L out in the gage, which fit the tops of therails, I dispense With lugs and other similar devices.

I claim that my combination of the elements before named gives my gagesuperiority in lightness, convenience, and durability.

I claim 1. In a track-gage, the combination of the level 0 in thepacking J, the standard E, the tooth I, the spring D, the thumb-piece c,and the handle B, substantially as and for the purposes shown anddescribed.

2. The combination of the bar A, the level 0 in the packing J, thestandard E, the tooth I, the spring l), the thumb-piece c, and thehandle 13, as shown and described.

SAML. MCMANU'S.

Witnesses:

T. B. PIER-SON, O. F. Buncnss.

